Scarlet Knights painting town red
21-game Big Ten losing streak comes to an end for Rutgers
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Greg Schiano's return to Rutgers paid immediate dividends. Already, the Scarlet Knights are assured their best Big Ten season in at least three years.
Isaih Pacheco ran for two first-half touchdowns, and Rutgers snapped a 21game Big Ten losing streak Saturday, beating Michigan State 38-27 in Schiano's first game back as the Scarlet Knights' coach.
“They have had some tough stretches, and to see the joy on their faces, how they did it, you know, because we had some downturns in the game,” Schiano said. “I don'twant to see, you know, thewoe isme. I want to see tough guys that, you know, just keep going and keep chopping.”
Michigan State has a new coach too, and Mel Tucker's debut was forgettable from the start. The Spartans (0-1) turned the ball over seven times — four in the first half — and never led against a Rutgers team that hadn'twon a conference game sinceNov. 4, 2017 againstMaryland.
“Those last seconds I looked up and said, ‘Wow, this is real life, you know?'” said Rutgers defensive end Mike Tverdov, a junior who redshirted the year the Scarlet Knights last won in Big Ten play. “So it's definitely long overdue.”
The Scarlet Knights scored 14 points
total through their first five Big Ten games last year. It took them 8:03 to reach that mark Saturday. Pacheco strolled in from 12 yards out to cap the game's opening drive, then Michigan State receiver Jayden Reed fumbled the ball away on his team's first offensive play. Rutgers (1-0) didn't capitalize on that turnover, but the Scarlet Knights quickly forced another. Rocky Lombardi was sacked and fumbled, giving Rutgers the ball at the Michigan State 1. A touchdown run by Johnny Langan made it 14-0. Reed scored on a 50-yard catch-andrun on fourth down to make it 14-7, but the Spartansweren't done turning the ball over. An interception in Michigan State territory led to a 24-yard touchdown run by Rutgers
quarterbackNoah Vedral.
Reed's second fumble of the half gave the Scarlet Knights the ball again, but Vedral threw an interception. Michigan State's Shakur Brown ran it back for a touchdown, but that was called back for a penalty and the Spartans settled for a field goal.
Pacheco scored on a 3-yard run in the final minute of the half, and Rutgers led 28-13 after two quarters. MSU lost another fumble on its first possession of the third.
“Turnover margin is the largest determining factor in winning and losing games, college and pro,” Tucker said. “We talk about it all the time — the ball, the ball, the ball, taking care of the football and taking the ball away on defense.”